Learning to Write with Pippa Roscoe!

This week we have author Pippa Roscoe talking about writing. She has a new book out, A Ring to Take His Revenge (The Winner's Circle).

Mills & Boon author Pippa Roscoe lives in Norfolk near her family and makes daily promises that this will be the day she will leave the computer and take a long walk in the countryside. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t dreaming of gorgeous alpha males and misunderstood heroines. Totally her mother’s fault of course—she gave Pippa her first romance to read at the age of seven! She is inconceivably happy that she gets to share those daydreams with her readers.

Pippa Roscoe on the web:


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Keeping your characters on the page together

Ever get that moment when your hero wants to stalk off the page and brood all over his thoughts? Or when your heroine just doesn’t want to play ball because she’s had enough of the outrageously demanding hero? Or when there is an absolutely vital plot point that requires one character to spend at least a chapter with a secondary character? You know, you know, that your hero and heroine should be together, but… but!
For my debut book, Conquering His Virgin Queen, keeping the Odir and Eloise on the page was easy – the entire story took place in twelve hours and there wasn’t a minute or word to waste in plot points or secondary characters. But A Ring to Take His Revenge was slightly different. It was the first in a trilogy about three powerful heroes and there was so much brooding fun male bonding I wanted to get onto the page, I found the heroes-in-waiting nudging my heroine out of focus.

What you want to show and what the readers need you to show can be different things:

In A Ring to Take His Revenge, I had a perfect prologue that set up the whole trilogy. All three heroes were there, and even a heroine-in-waiting. There was fun, banter, back and forth and intrigue… just not Emma, my heroine for this book! I was adamant that it couldn’t be changed. That all the information there was vital for the entire series. But my editor was right. I needed to bring Emma and Antonio together, because they and not the other characters were what was important there and then.  I found a way to still hold on to some of the key things I loved so much about it, and chose to start the scene earlier – thus allowing Emma to make her fabulous entrance on to the page and I now love the prologue even more than the original. 
 
Explore ways to make your hero and heroine interdependent:

The hero needs a marriage of convenience, fine. Your heroine can take the ring and go off around the world on an all inclusive tour! Your heroine is pregnant, fine. Child support could easily help her become a single mother! Often the very thing that could force these two characters together, doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be together. But we do want that, so why? Why does the hero/heroine have to stay with the other? Is it social pressure – the public need the marriage to seem real? Or personal pressure – the hero will be a part of his child’s life? In A Ring to Take His Revenge, Antonio knows that Emma is the only person who will understand his need for a very public fiancé, who won’t make ‘emotional’ demands on him, who – he thinks – will treat it like a business proposition. Ultimately Emma becomes both the key to his revenge and the one thing that prevents him from reaching it. Exploring the tension between these two aspects was huge fun and hopefully deeply satisfying! 

Find a situation that they can’t easily walk away from:

Some of my favourite Presents books are the ones that force the hero and heroine together, alone, for a period of time. Do they get stranded on an island, with no immediate hope of escape? Is there a snowstorm that locks them in a idyllic country cottage? Are they stuck on a boat at sea? Is the heroine stranded in a desert kingdom where the Sheikh is the only person who can save her? These moments not only allow the hero and heroine to be alone together, but also force them to confront some of the meaty emotional issues that are keeping them apart. Neither can simply walk away – they’re stuck together, even when things get tough… or hot and heavy!  
I hope that you have found this helpful, but I’m curious… how did your favourite book keep your hero and heroine on the page together?



A Ring to Take His Revenge (The Winners' Circle)



He’ll do anything to settle the score…

…even fake an engagement!

To secure his revenge against his cruel father, billionaire Antonio Arcuri needs a fake fiancée—fast! He demands his shy PA, Emma Guilham, wear his diamond. In return, he’ll help fulfill her dreams—starting with a jet-set trip to Buenos Aires! It’s a simple charade, until the burning tension between them erupts into irresistible desire. Now Antonio must decide between vengeance and Emma…

A powerfully intense revenge romance!.

Buy on:

Amazon UK             
Amazon Aust


Nook                        Kobo



24 comments:

  1. Great tips. Thank you for sharing. And Happy Writing!

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  2. Thank you Darla. Happy writing to you too. Best wishes.

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  3. Yeah, that can be tough, keeping them together.

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    1. Its definitely a struggle sometimes! But when you find the 'right' way to keep them together the sparks will fly! Best wishes.

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  4. I really like the explanation on that. This isn't something that I've thought of before.

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    1. I'm so pleased that you found it helpful Mary. Happy writing!

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  5. Hi Kelly and Pippa - sounds like a riveting book - just the sort of storyline one wants in a romantic novel with a burn to keep one interested. Good luck - cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks Hilary! I really did enjoy writing it and I hope that this comes across in the story! Best wishes.

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  6. Fun! A fake fiance who potentially becomes a real one. Best of luck with your new book!

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    1. Thanks Sherry! I really do enjoy the fake fiance angle! Best wishes!

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  7. "A powerfully intense revenge romance." That's a great tag line, and the book sounds terrific.

    it also sounds like you have a terrific editor. She nudged you into perfecting a prologue you thought was already your best. (And YOU were smart enough to follow her advise!)

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    1. Thanks Susan, and yes. I definitely had a few good 'nudges' from my editor with this story, but it just goes to show how great it is to work with someone who wants to help you achieve the best you can with your story. Hard work that was absolutely worth it in the end. Best wishes!

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  8. Revenge and romance? Can't beat that combination.

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    1. It's definitely one of my favourites! Best wishes.

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  9. Great story concept. I'm super curious about how it plays out.

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    1. Thanks Crystal. I hope that you enjoy reading it. Best wishes!

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  10. Super post. Sometimes those characters just have a mind of their own. Sounds like a page turner story. Good luck with it.

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    1. Thank you Beverly. Ohh those pesky characters can sometimes be hard to wrangle! But I usually get them to play ball... eventually! Best wishes!

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  11. Wonderful to see Pippa here. I have just been learning about her on another blog. Her latest book sounds like a page turner. :)
    ~Jess

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  12. Thanks Jess! I hope that you enjoy it. Best wishes.

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  13. I love that your editor pushed you further and that you are extra happy with the results! Hooray! Your book sounds great!

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    1. I can safely say I was definitely pushed :) but it was so worth it in the end. Thank you Dawn! Best wishes.

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  14. I like the title; it's definitely intriguing. And I like stories that put the hero and heroine together and make them duke it out, other than stories that put off that scene for as long as possible. That is, I've read other books where the hero and heroine hardly spent any time together, and yet the readers were somehow supposed to be convinced that they were meant for each other.

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  15. These are all such brilliant tips and such helpful pointers! So cool that your first book was set over that distinct time period and then that helped keep everything relevant and immediate. With more room to play with I understand how easy it can be for an author to go off on a tangent, but these are some great reminders and tips on how to keep it down to just what the reader needs to know for the story. Thanks for sharing.

    My recent post: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2018/10/my-best-friends-exorcism-book-review/

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